Does God exist, or is the material universe all that is or ever was or ever
will be? One approach to answering this question is the cosmological argument. It
goes like this. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. The
universe began to exist.Therefore, the universe has a cause. Is the first
premise true? Let's consider. Believing that something can pop into existence
without a cause is more of a stretch than believing in magic. At least with
magic you've got a hat and a magician. And if something can come into being
from nothing, then why don't we see this happening all the time? No; everyday
experience and scientific evidence confirm our first premise. If something
begins to exist, it must have a cause. But what about our second premise? Did the
universe begin, or has it always existed? Atheists have typically said that the
universe has been here forever. The universe is just there, and that's all.
First, let's consider the second law of thermodynamics.
It tells us the universe is slowly running out of usable energy, and that's
the point. If the universe had been here forever it would have run out of usable
energy by now. The second law points us to a universe that has a definite
beginning. This is further confirmed by a series of remarkable scientific
discoveries. In 1915 Albert Einstein presented his general theory of
relativity. This allowed us for the first time to talk meaningfully about the past
history of the universe. Next Alexander Friedmann and Georges Lemaitre, each
working with Einstein's equations, predicted that the universe is expanding.
Then in 1929, Edwin Hubble measured the red shift and light from distant galaxies.
This empirical evidence confirmed not only that the universe is expanding, but
that it sprang into being from a single point in the finite past. It was a
monumental discovery almost beyond comprehension. However, not everyone is
fond of a finite universe, so it wasn't long before alternative models popped
into existence. But one by one, these models failed to stand the test of time.
More recently three leading cosmologists, Arvind Borde, Alan Guth, and Alexander
Vilenkin, proved that any universe which has on average been expanding throughout
its history cannot be eternal in the past, but must have an absolute beginning.
This even applies to the multiverse, if there is such a thing. This means that
scientists can no longer hide behind a past eternal universe. There is no escape.
They have to face the problem of a cosmic beginning. Any adequate model must
have a beginning just like the standard model. It's quite plausible then that
both premises of the argument are true. This means that the conclusion is also
true; The universe has a cause. And since the universe can't cause
itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless,
timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful, much like... God. The
cosmological argument shows that in fact it is quite reasonable to believe that
God does exist.